Teen Suicides

Paper Summary:

Suicide is perhaps the most tragic and traumatic type of death that can occur in any family or community. When committed by a teenager who has not yet lived the greater part of his/her life, the act seems all the more shocking. It is, therefore, most disturbing to note that, while the general suicide rate in the US has declined in the last 25 years, it has tripled among the adolescents in the same period and is now the second-most common cause of death of teenagers. This paper examines various aspects of adolescent suicides, including the profile of a likely suicide candidate, major causes of teen suicide, and some ways of preventing it.

From the Paper:

"Suicide is now one of the leading causes of death among American teenagers ahead of cancer, heart disease, AIDS, lung disease, and birth defects combined. Certain sub-groups among teenaged Americans are more vulnerable than others. For example, three times as many teenaged girls attempt suicide as boys. However, the single most likely candidate for "successful" suicide is the white teenaged boy. This is because boys use more lethal methods for suicide such as firearms and hanging while taking sleeping pills (which has a higher survival rate) is the preferred suicide method among girls. It is also possible that psychologically, the girls in particular, are crying out for help while attempting suicide and could be secretly hoping to be rescued. Most recent researches have reported consistently higher rates of suicides and attempted suicides among the gays and homosexuals one report finds that rates of serious attempted suicides among homosexual youths are 4 times higher. The suicide rate for black youth (previously considered to be less likely to commit suicide) has also risen sharply in recent years."

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